“Well, at least someone is a success in this family,” Lady Marlow observed as she joined her granddaughters.
The rest of the sisters instinctively straightened their postures. Their grandmother was loving, but she also elicited obedience and attention. Lady Marlow snapped her fan shut with a decisive click as her eyes followed her youngest granddaughter’s movements on the dance floor.
“Just look at her,” Lady Marlow murmured, the pride on her face softening the lines on it. “She has caught the attention of young and even not-so-young men, even on her debut. Yet, she knows how to navigate the social scene. I believe she will land a duke in no time.”
A slight pause followed the declaration as their grandmother watched Selina dance with a possible suitor, glassy-eyed. Was she trying not to cry?
“I am terribly proud of our dear girl,” she continued.
“Oh, certainly. We are all proud of our dear Selina,” Cathy murmured affectionately.
“Which is more than what can be said for the lot of you. I had to go through some hoops to see you settled. Not to mention Portia, who still resists any talk of marriage,” Lady Marlow said.
“Now that you mention it, Grandmama. Since our dear Selina is out there representing the family, I think I will take a stroll through the library,” Portia chimed before leaving.
Lady Marlow scoffed in mock indignation, but Madeline smiled. She was happy that Selina was already having a good Season. Still, her mind went back to her own situation and how she wanted something more with Kenneth, not just something physical. She thought she had gotten close, but perhaps she had always relied on wishful thinking.
“I need a moment,” Madeline murmured. “I apologize, but the heat is a little overwhelming in here.”
She weaved into the crowd, hoping to get some refreshment. A familiar woman stepped directly into her path.
Lady Rose?
It was indeed Lady Rose. She could still remember the cruel look on her face when she had pushed her. Before she could react, the woman tilted her glass of red wine and tipped it forward. The wine splashed on Madeline’s dress, marring the silver-blue with the deep red. The crimson stain looked almost like a wound near her heart.
“How clumsy of me,” Lady Rose exclaimed, her mouth forming anOof surprise, but her eyes told a different story. They looked cold and calculating.
Madeline gasped, her hands clutching at the stain. The silk and lace would be ruined, just as the night certainly already was. She felt the eyes of nearby guests and whispers creeping so close to them. She could not bear it. The urge to escape grew within her.
“Excuse me,” she managed to choke out, fleeing the ballroom.
Heart pounding, she headed for the library. She found Tristan’s bottle of wine by his desk and dabbed some of it onto the stain with her handkerchief, hoping to neutralize the color. It feltuseless, though, and she was already frustrated.
“Dabbing it will not help,” a voice called out, right after the door opened behind her and clicked shut.
Madeline spun around to see Lady Rose only a few feet behind her. She almost looked like a specter with the candles framing her outline.
“Why are you here, Lady Rose?” Madeline asked, her posture becoming rigid. “What do you want?”
“I was not done talking when you left, Madeline.” She walked deliberately toward Madeline, flapping her fan open and closed near her chest. She looked at her from head to toe, as if finding her lacking.
“To answer your question, I am here to look at the spectacle of you even closer. You and your family are a disgrace,” Lady Rose said, curling her lips. “And despite that, you dared trick the Duke of Huntington into marrying you. One would think you would not have the gall to respond to his advertisement.”
“If you are merely here to insult my family and me, it is best that you leave the premises, Lady Rose.”
“Why? Do you not want anyone to provide a perfect observation of how you and His Grace are ill-matched? It is quite obvious to everyone at the ball that His Grace does not care for you. He stands there as if he had been forced to accompany you.”
“My husband does as he pleases. I never force him to do anything,” Madeline replied, even as her chest felt like it would explode.
“Everyone can see that he merely tolerates this union. You should have let him choose a woman of impeccable breeding,a woman like me. That way, he would have had the practical match he asked for, not a wife with her head in the clouds.”
The words cut like a knife because they mirrored what Madeline herself was thinking. She felt tears pricking her eyes, but she would not let that woman have the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
Still, she did not allow herself to answer. Bitter words might rush out, somehow proving the hateful lady in front of her right.
“You should mind your own business, Lady Rose. If you ever find a husband, even with your foul personality, you may comment on my marriage.”
Madeline must have hit a nerve, because Lady Rose’s face transformed before her eyes. The woman’s face turned purple with rage. Her eyes bulged as she cried, “You little gutter rat! If it were not for you, the Duke could have married me!”
